Seatrec Secures $970,000 Seed Financing Led by Pasadena Angels to Expand its Revolutionary Ocean Energy Harvesting Technology

Seatrec, a renewable energy startup that harvests energy from temperature differences in the environment, today announced it has raised $970,000 in Seed round financing led by Pasadena Angels with participation from Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) Impact Fund, Tech Coast Angels, and other strategic individuals.

John Yoon from Pasadena Angels will join the Board of Directors as an observer. With this funding, Seatrec plans to expand its engineering and operating teams to increase sales, accelerate the product development, and support government-sponsored activities.

Oceans remain one of the great mysteries of our planet — more than two-thirds of the earth is ocean, but only less than 10 percent of the ocean floor has been mapped. Humans rely on oceans not just for food supply, but because of the profound impact they have on our climate and overall health of the planet.

Ocean data provides critical insights into weather and climate patterns and illustrates the impact of human activities like seafloor mining, aquaculture and pollution. Additionally, powering the equipment required to gather data at the depths of the ocean has been a limiting factor. 

Seatrec is the first company to produce a portable power system harvesting energy from naturally occurring temperature differentials underwater. Its patented thermal energy harvesting technology provides infinite power for oceanographic equipment, including floats and gliders. With Seatrec’s technology, researchers can extend the life of the equipment, power more sensors, and enable faster data collection at reduced cost with zero emissions and waste. The advent of unmanned aquatic drones in emerging bluetech industries will also require additional clean power supply, which Seatrec provides.

“We are at a critical juncture in understanding the importance of the ocean for the overall health of the planet, but research and development has been limited to date by the unique challenge of powering oceanographic equipment underwater,” said Dr. Yi Chao, founder and CEO of Seatrec. “Seatrec’s technology makes it possible to harvest infinite, clean energy to power new hardware technologies and capture data more persistently to better inform our understanding of climate variability, the impact of seafloor mining, and microplastics in the oceans.”

“Pasadena Angels is thrilled to invest in Seatrec, an emerging startup in the bluetech economy,” said Yoon. “The ‘Ocean of Things’ is one of the most exciting and critically important areas for innovation, and we expect to see a rapid increase in new businesses focused on different aspects of the ocean. Seatrec has already demonstrated that it can reliably provide the clean power required to support this expected growth.”  

“The need to accelerate action on climate change is greater than ever, which is why Seatrec is one of the first investments in our LACI Impact Fund,” said Matt Petersen, President and CEO of LACI. “Seatrec’s commitment to providing renewable energy to power the devices researchers use to study our oceans and companies use in marine environments is a key piece in protecting our planet.”

About Seatrec
Seatrec designs and manufactures energy harvesting systems that generate electricity from naturally occurring temperature differences in ocean waters. This renewable energy can be used to power deep water oceanographic research equipment such as floats, gliders, and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), resulting in the most scalable, cost-effective deep ocean data collection possible.

Incorporated in 2016 by CEO, Dr. Yi Chao, Seatrec’s technology originated at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, to provide clean power for remote off-grid locations. The company is headquartered in Monrovia, CA and is funded by Breakout Labs, Schmidt Marine Technology Partners, Pasadena Angels, Tech Coast Angels, and LACI. Visit us at www.seatrec.com and @seatrecinc.

About Pasadena Angels
The Pasadena Angels is Southern California’s most respected and connected group of accredited investors, ranked one of the top ten angel groups in the US by Forbes in 2015 and 2018 and Angel Research Institute in 2017. We have invested more than $80 million dollars of early-stage capital in over 210 companies. Pasadena Angels funded companies have gone on to raise over $1 billion from additional funding sources such as venture capital and private equity.

Recent notable exits for the Pasadena Angels are Mind Body Software (NASDAQ: MB) reaching $1 billion and Solium, acquired by Morgan Stanley for $900 million. We have the capital, expertise, and network of over 100 members to help entrepreneurs turn great ideas into great companies. The Pasadena Angels is committed to helping forward-thinking innovators, creators, and entrepreneurs with the mentorship and funding that fuels success. www.pasadenaangels.com

About LACI
The Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI), a City of Los Angeles-established nonprofit organization, is creating an inclusive green economy by: unlocking innovation through working with startups to accelerate the commercialization of clean technologies; transforming markets through partnerships with policymakers, innovators and market leaders in transportation, energy and sustainable cities; and enhancing communities through workforce development, pilots and other programs. Founded as an economic development initiative by the City of Los Angeles and its Department of Water & Power (LADWP), LACI is recognized as one of the most innovative business incubators in the world by UBI. In the past eight years, LACI has helped 134 companies raise $221M in funding, $220M in revenue, create 1,750 jobs, and deliver more than $393M in long term economic value. Learn more at laci.org

Contact Information

James Christopherson

PR Manager

Seatrec

Contact via E-mail